MILAN — The 2026 Winter Olympics rolled into another packed day Sunday, Feb. 8, with all eyes on Lindsey Vonn. But the excitement quickly turned to concern when Vonn suffered a major crash in the women’s downhill. The 41-year-old was competing with a torn ACL.
Vonn caught a gate with her right arm, which caused her to spin around. Her legs went akimbo and her weight was too far back on her skis to recover. She tumbled on her side and then somersaulted. The crash happened about 13 to 14 seconds into the run. Vonn could be heard wailing in pain, and a helicopter was on the scene to transport her for care.
Team USA did secure a pair of gold medals on Feb. 8, however. Breezy Johnson won the United States’ first medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics after taking the downhill skiing event, before Ilia Malinin’s impressive 200.03 showing in the men’s free skate portion of the team event narrowly edged out Japan, which took silver.
Team USA reacts to winning gold in ice skating team event
Here’s a look at Team USA’s full reaction after finding out it won gold in the ice-skating team event on Feb. 8:
Ilia Malinin wins gold medal for Team USA
Ilia Malinin, the ‘Quad God,’ scores a 200.03 in the men’s free skate portion of the team event, which secures the gold medal for the United States in the team ice skating event. Malinin didn’t attempt a Quad Axel but nonetheless capped off the impressive run with a quad Salchow, triple axel and a one-footed backflip.
Japan’s Shun Sato scores a personal-best 194.02 in the following routine, which comes up short of Malinin’s score. Team USA (69 points) takes gold in the team event for the second consecutive Olympics, with Japan (68 points) taking silver and Italy (60 points) with bronze.
Team USA consisted of Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Elle Kam, Danny O’Shea and Malinin.
Team USA misses women’s big air final
LIVIGNO, Italy – The United States won’t have an entrant in the women’s big air snowboarding final, as all three Americans failed to match together two runs strong enough make it out of evening qualifying on Feb. 8 at Livigno Snow Park.
Out of the 29 competitors in the field, the top 12 qualified for the final on the basis of three runs, with the best two scores counting.
Team USA’s Lily Dhawornvej, at only 16 years old, finished 20th after opening with a stellar 83.75. But from there, she didn’t fare better than a 58 on two shaky jumps, ending up with a 141.75 total, shy of the 153.50 cut line.
Similarly, USA teammate Hahna Norman scored an 82 on her second attempt, but crashed on her third, shrugging on screen as she awaited a score that wouldn’t be enough to advance. Norman ended up 28th with a 93.50 total.
The last remaining American hopeful, Jessica Perlmutter, went into her final run needing a big score to boost an opening 77. But she also couldn’t land her jump, falling face-first to place 23th with a 132.25.
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand took first in the qualifying with a 172.25, scoring at least an 82.25 on all three runs.
– Gentry Estes, Nashville Tennessean
Amber Glenn makes 2026 Winter Olympics debut in team event
Amber Glenn, the No. 3-ranked figure skater in the world, was a bit shaky in her figure skating team event routine, although she still managed to score a 138.62, which ranks third among women single skaters in the event.
Her score keeps Team USA tied-for first place of the team event standings with Japan heading into the men’s free skate portion, where Ilia Malinin will compete. She finishes behind Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto (148.62) and Georgia’s Anastasiia Gubanova (140.17) in the women’s free skate.
Team USA needs Malinin to win the men’s free skate in order to win gold.
Corey Thiesse and Korey Dropkin advance to next round of mixed doubles curling
History has been made in mixed doubles curling for Team USA!
Corey and Korey have advanced to the playoff round of the mixed doubles curling at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics after having gone 6-2 in round-robin play. It’s the first time Team USA has advanced to the playoffs.
Team USA heads into the playoffs in second place in the standings, only behind Great Britain, who beat the U.S. pair on Saturday. The other loss for Team USA came on Saturday against the Republic of Korea.
Usha Vance taking in figure skating competition with son
According to a White House Press Pool reporter, Second Lady Usha Vance is now at Sunday night’s team event figure skating competition with her son, Ewan Vance. Vice President JD Vance is not with the second family at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
JD Vance takes in men’s 5,000 meter speed skating event with Apolo Ohno
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, continue to take in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The latest event for the second family was the men’s 5,000 meter speed skating event on Sunday, which they took in with Olympic medal-winning speed skater Apolo Ohno, who is part of the U.S. delegation at the Winter Games, according to a White House Press Pool report.
Auston Matthews named Team USA hockey captain
Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews was named captain of the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team, a position he also held at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Other NHL players named as captains on Sunday included Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (Canada), Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog (Sweden) and Anaheim’s Mikael Granlund (Finland). Five-time Olympian Roman Cervenka, who plays in the Czech league, will be captain of the Czech team. – Mike Brehm
Breezy Johnson breaks Olympic gold medal
U.S. skier Breezy Johnson accidentally broke her Olympic gold medal from Sunday’s women’s downhill, as the piece that attaches her medal and the ribbon that holds it broke from jumping up and down celebrating her first Olympic medal. Johnson’s gold medal was Team USA’s first gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics as well.
‘It’s definitely heavy. Heavier than I expected,’ Johnson said. ‘I think that’s maybe why it broke.
‘It’s not crazy broken, but it’s a little broken.’
Click here to read more of Nancy Armour’s story.
Team Poland shows off pierogi plushie
Move on over, Flat Stanley, because it’s plushie time!
Team Poland has brought a pierogi plushie (yes, it looks delicious) with them to the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, and it appears it will be making quite the rounds around the Olympic grounds from one event venue to another.
IOC President sends message to Lindsey Vonn
IOC President Kirsty Coventry issued a message to Lindsey Vonn following her crash during Sunday’s women’s downhill medal event: ‘Dear Lindsey, we’re all thinking of you. You are an incredible inspiration, and will always be an Olympic champion.‘
Coventry is among many reacting to Vonn’s crash and lifting her up.
Corey Thiesse and Korey Dropkin move to 5-2 in mixed doubles curling
After an underwhelming Saturday at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Team USA’s Corey Thiesse and Korey Dropkin picked up a win on Sunday against Estonia, moving to 5-2 in mixed doubles curling round-robin play.
Breezy Johnson on Lindsey Vonn’s injury: ‘Can’t imagine the pain that she’s going through’
U.S. skier Breezy Johnson saw Lindsey Vonn’s crash from the hot seat in Cortina, as she raced seven spots ahead of Vonn on Sunday in the women’s downhill.
‘I can’t imagine the pain that she’s going through,’ Johnson, who won gold in the women’s downhill, said. We can deal with physical pain. But the emotional pain is something else. And I wish her the best, and I hope that this isn’t the end.’
Casey Dawson out of medal contention in men’s 5,000m
American speed skater Casey Dawson finished the 5,000 meters in 6:11.88, which will keep him off the podium. He placed eighth.
Norway’s Sander Eitrem won the gold medal after setting an Olympic record in 6:03.95 and Czechia’s Metodej Jilek took silver with a time of 6:06.48. Italy’s Riccardo Lorello got the bronze after edging teammate Davide Ghiotto by 0.35 seconds (6:09.22 to 6:09.57).
Lindsey Vonn update: ‘Stable condition’
U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team provided a very positive update on Lindsey Vonn’s status after her crash during the women’s downhill on Sunday.
2026 Winter Olympics medal count
Note: Last updated at 2:41 p.m. ET
- 1. Italy — 8 (1 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze)
- 2. Norway — 6 (3 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
- T3. Japan — 3 (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
- T3. Austria — 3 (1 gold, 2 silver)
- T3. Germany — 3 (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
- T6. Czechia — 2 (1 gold, 1 silver)
- T6. France — 2 (1 gold, 1 silver)
- T6. Sweden — 2 (1 gold, 1 silver)
- T9. United States — 1 (1 gold)
- T9. Switzerland — 1 (1 gold)
- T9. Republic of Korea — 1 (1 silver)
- T9. Slovenia — 1 (1 silver)
- T9. Bulgaria — 1 (1 bronze)
- T9. Canada — 1 (1 bronze)
- T9. People’s Republic of China — 1 (1 bronze)
Casey Dawson prepares for 5,000m speedskating final
MILAN, Italy — U.S. speed skater Casey Dawson is getting ready to compete in the men’s 5,000m. Dawson, a 25-year-old from Utah, won an Olympic bronze medal in the team pursuit at the 2022 Beijing Games.
‘Last Olympics was kind of a trial run for me, and the whole COVID-19 pandemic tainted the experience,’ Dawson said at a Team USA news conference Feb. 4, according to Olympics.com. — Josh Peter
US tops Estonia in mixed doubles curling
The American duo of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin snapped a two-game losing streak by beating Estonia 5-3 in mixed doubles curling.
With the match tied at 3 in the seventh of eight ends, the Estonians missed a takeout, allowing the U.S. to steal a point and take the lead. A similar situation transpired in the final end, resulting in the final margin of victory.
The win improves the U.S.’s record to 5-2, with a win against either Sweden (later Sunday) or Italy (on Monday) clinching them a spot in the medal round.
Karl Benjamin strips after defending gold medal
LIVIGNO — Take it off! Take it off!
Austria’s Karl Benjamin defended his gold medal in the men’s parallel giant slalom and upon crossing the finish line and unstrapping his feet from his board, he stripped off the four layers that covered his upper body.
Benjamin won his fourth medal in the event, adding to his silver from 2010, a bronze four years later and the gold he won in China four years ago.
In the small final to decide the bronze medal, Bulgaria’s Tervel Zamfirov bested Slovenia’s Tim Mastnak in a photo finish.
Bella Wright on Lindsey Vonn’s crash: ‘Last thing you want to see’
U.S. skier Bella Wright on Lindsey Vonn: ‘It looked like Lindsey had incredible speed out of that turn and she hooked her arm and it’s just over just like that. After all the preparation, after years of hard work and rehabilitation and all the things, it’s the last thing you want to see somebody go through.
‘It’s the last thing you want to see for Lindsey. But she should be really proud of everything that she has gone through to get back here. And regardless, if she got last today, if she won, she obviously crashed, whatever happened today.
‘She’s an inspiration to all of us and she should be really proud. I know it probably doesn’t feel like that right now, but I hope one day she can recognize that.’
Mikaela Shiffrin reacts to Vonn’s crash, Breezy’s gold
U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin posted on social media as she watched her teammates compete in the women’s downhill.
First when Lindsey Vonn suffered a hard crash 15 seconds into her run.
Then when Breezy Johnson became the first American woman not named Shiffrin or Vonn to win an individual medal in Alpine skiing since Julia Mancuso in 2014 (bronze in super combined).
American Breezy Johnson wins gold in women’s downhill
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — American Breezy Johnson has conquered Cortina.
The same course that ended her Olympic dreams in 2022 delivered gilded immortality Sunday, as she won the women’s downhill gold medal with a time of 1:36.10. The win came on the same day U.S. teammate Lindsey Vonn suffered a hard crash and was airlifted to a local hospital, just more than a week after she ruptured the ACL in her left knee.
Johnson skied sixth in the lineup, her time holding up as the remaining 30 skiers raced. About halfway through the remaining order, while Johnson was still in the winner’s seat, she appeared to be tearing up, probably with because it’s setting in that she would be an Olympic medalist.
Johnson also made history, becoming the first American woman not named Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn to win an individual medal in Alpine skiing since Julia Mancuso in 2014 (bronze in super combined). — Payton Titus
Lindsey Vonn’s crash ‘(not) result necessarily of her recent injury’
International Ski and Snowboard Federation president Johan Eliasch said Lindsey Vonn didn’t crash because of her ruptured ACL.’I don’t think the accident she had was a result necessarily of her recent injury,’ Eliasch said. ‘And that is a decision each athlete has to take themselves. That’s an individual decision. It’s not for somebody else to tell her. Of course she can listen, but knowing Lindsey, she knows her body, she knows her injuries, and she knows also what she’s capable of. So I’m sure she made a correct decision to start today.’
Lindsey Vonn airlifted after crash
Lindsey Vonn received about 15 minutes of medical attention on the hill before being airlifted. She will be evaluated by medical staff, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team said in a statement.
Lindsey Vonn suffers hard crash in Olympic downhill
Lindsey Vonn’s hopes of winning another Olympic medal were dashed when the American star suffered a major crash early in her downhill run.
Vonn got off balance in the air off the first jump, and all her weight shifted to the backs of her skis. She tried to right herself in the air but couldn’t and crashed to the snow.
The three-time Olympic medalist remained prone in the snow, as gasps and groans fade into shocked silence from the large contingent of fans.
Vonn is 41, and skiing with a partial replacement of her right knee. She had dominated the sport before the crash, making the podium in all five downhill races this season and winning two of them.
American Breezy Johnson lays down top early speed
Great googly moogly Breezy Johnson. The reigning world champion in downhill threw down a blistering run that is going to force everyone else to go for broke if they want to top it.
Skiing right on the very edge, Johnson took tight lines around most of the turns and sailed on the jumps. She took the lead in the second section, then expanded it to almost a second in the third section. She came into the finish area with a spray of snow, pumping her fist at the cheering U.S. fans.
Johnson hit a top speed of 80 miles per hour in the upper part of the course, and was still hauling at almost 69 mph at the final speed marker.
‘U-S-A! U-S-A!’ ahead of women’s downhill race
Chants of U-S-A! U-S-A! already being heard 20 minutes before the start of the women’s downhill race, which includes Lindsey Vonn despite tearing her ACL in her left knee a week ago.
Cody Winters fails to qualify in snowboard parallel giant slalom
LIVINGO — Cody Winters barely missed advancing out of morning qualifying of the men’s snowboard parallel giant slalom, finishing 21st out of 32 competitors. The top 16 moved into the afternoon’s knockout round.
Winters’ time of 1:27.99 on two combined runs was just shy of the 1:27.56 cutline.
Italian riders Roland Fischnaller (1:25.13) and Aaron March (1:26.08) posted the best two qualifying times.
A 25-year-old from Colorado, Winters was the lone American in the men’s PSG. He is also set to compete in the men’s snowboard cross at these Olympics.
In the women’s PSG, USA’s Iris Pflum also failed to advance to the day’s knockout round. — Gentry Estes
Olympics schedule today
All time Eastern.
- 2 a.m.: Luge – Women’s Singles Runs 5 & 6 | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
- 3-5 a.m.: Snowboard – Women’s and Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Qualification and Elimination Runs | Livigno Snow Park (Livigno)
- 4:05 a.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
- 5:30 a.m.: Alpine Skiing – Women’s Downhill | medal event | Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
- 6:30 a.m.: Cross-Country Skiing – Men’s 10km + 10km Skiathlon | medal event | Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium (Val di Fiemme)
- 7-8:45 a.m.: Snowboard – Women’s and Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Knockout First Round, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Finals | medal events | Livigno Snow Park (Livigno)
- 7:30 a.m.: Luge – Men’s Doubles Official Training Runs 1 & 2 | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
- 8:05 a.m.: Biathlon – Mixed Relay 4x6km | medal event | Anterselva Biathlon Arena (Antholz)
- 8:35 a.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
- CAN vs. SWE; GBR vs. SUI; USA vs. EST; ITA vs. CZE
- 8:46 a.m.: Luge – Women’s Doubles Official Training Runs 1 & 2 | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
- 10 a.m.: Speed Skating – Men’s 5000m | medal event | Milano Speed Skating Stadium (Rho, Milan)
- 10:30 a.m.: Ski Jumping – Women’s Normal Hill Official Training 3 | Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium
- 10:40 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | SWE vs. FRA | Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
- 11 a.m.: Luge – Men’s Singles Runs 3 & 4 | medal event | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
- 1 p.m.: Ski Jumping – Men’s Normal Hill Official Training 2 | Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium
- 1:05 p.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
- CAN vs. KOR; SUI vs. NOR; USA vs. SWE; ITA vs. GBR
- 1:30 p.m.: Snowboard – Women’s Big Air Qualification Runs 1, 2, 3 | Livigno Snow Park (Livigno)
- 1:30–5 p.m.: Figure Skating – Team Event | Milano Ice Skating Arena (Milan) | medal event
- Team event, Pair Skating, Free Skate: 1:30 p.m.
- Team event, Women Singles Skating, Free Skate: 2:45 p.m.
- Team event, Men Singles Skating, Free Skate: 3:55 p.m.
- 3:10 p.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | CZE vs. FIN | Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
2026 Winter Olympics TV schedule today
Peacock is streaming every event live today.
Watch Winter Olympics on Peacock
Iris Pflum does not move on in women’s snowboard parallel giant slalom competition
LIVIGNO — Team USA’s Iris Pflum failed to qualify for the knockout round of the women’s snowboard parallel giant slalom during morning runs at Livigno Snow Park.
The event’s field of 32 was cut to 16 with combined times from two runs, one each on the red and blue courses. Pflum finished 30th with a combined time of 1:40.08, meaning the 22-year-old from Minnesota wouldn’t advance to the Round of 16 later in the day. She was the lone American in the women’s PGS competition.
Summer Britcher posts fastest US time in Olympic women’s luge training
Summer Britcher posted the fastest times for the Team USA during women’s singles luge training runs at the Cortina Sliding Centre on Sunday, Feb. 8.
Britcher’s time of 53.172 seconds on her fifth run was the ninth-best time recorded during the training session, tops among the three American competitors.
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